SIBU: Police here have smashed a syndicate that buys bank accounts and ATM cards for use in cheating cases such as Macau Scams.
Sibu OCPD Asst Comm Zulkipli Suhaili said three local men arrested are in their early 20s and are believed to belong to a syndicate known as the "Jason Group".
One is believed to be the ringleader while the other two are suspected to be his agents, he told a press conference here on Wednesday (Dec 21).
"We have been monitoring the syndicate since June. On Dec 14, a police team from the Commercial Crime Division detained two men suspected of being agents for the syndicate.
"This led to the arrest of their suspected leader on Tuesday (Dec 20)," ACP Zulkipli said.
He added that police also seized 13 ATM cards, 16 SIM cards, a woman's identity card, a car and six mobile phones.
"Checks found that 11 bank accounts (linked to the ATM cards) were involved in nine cheating cases with losses amounting to RM175,013.99," he said.
ACP Zulkipli said the syndicate's modus operandi was to recruit agents to look for people who were interested to rent or sell their bank accounts.
"The account holders will be paid between RM400 and RM500 depending on the type of account and bank," he said.
Initial investigations found that these mule accounts were then used in a range of cheating cases from Macau Scams to nonexistent loan schemes and job scams.
As a preventive measure, he advised the public never to provide their bank account information to anyone for short-term financial gain as this would only implicate them in the crimes.
